Have your say on Heathrow’s proposed changes to airspace and future operations

Have your say on Heathrow’s proposed changes to airspace and future operations

Hounslow Council is urging residents to respond to Heathrow’s latest consultation on proposed changes to airspace and future operations which launched this week.

Published: Wednesday, 9th January 2019

The consultation covers:

Airspace design for the current two-runway airport including the design envelopes for new arrival routes, with the introduction of Independent Parallel Approaches

Airspace design for an expanded Heathrow including the design envelopes for three runways at Heathrow

How a three-runway airport will be operated including directional preference, night flights and runway alternation

One of the main proposed changes to the existing airport will see Heathrow increase their flights by an additional 25,000 up to 505,000 a year, and changes to the use of runways at set times which will increase the number of early morning flights.

Included in the consultation are broad areas of where future flight paths might be positioned. Even though specific flight paths will not be defined until 2022, people need to comment now on the proposed changes. Flight paths have not been changed since the 1950s so any alterations in the future will potentially have an impact for many years.

In relation to night flights, the current night period defined by UK policy for scheduled arrivals and departures is 11pm to 7am (with additional quotas, a voluntary period for no scheduled flights and provisions for exceptional circumstances). Heathrow has stated a preference for the night period to be between 11pm and 5.30am.

Consultation materials are available to view at the Civic Centre, Lampton Road and at the consultation events. Local events are to be held at Hounslow Civic Centre on 29 January, St Giles Hotel Heathrow on Hounslow Road in Feltham on 6 February and Holiday Inn Brentford Lock on Commerce Road in Brentford on 22 February.

Cllr Steve Curran, Leader of Hounslow Council said:

“The council’s position in relation to Heathrow has always been very clear. We believe that Heathrow should be better, not bigger. Being better will require striking a good balance between improvements made and any negative impact that such changes will have on our communities.

"We believe that the benefits of living in proximity to Heathrow need to be greater for the whole community, not just those who catch flights or whose jobs are directly or indirectly linked to the airport.

“Our residents need to be aware that changes to airspace will have an impact on the whole borough. The proposals being put forward are not just about expansion: they outline plans to change the existing airport operations, whether or not the airport gets a third runway. The council will be issuing our response to this consultation but make sure you also have your say.”